60 TH
Here: Toby Paterson so/so's in the long shadows of a Glasgow evening.
Top Right: Cubic cuts the lip amidst cryptic Scottish scrawls at Livingston skatepark.
Right: Colin Kennedy clears the Glasgow micro-bench mega gap.
rriving in Edinburgh is like entering a
medieval wonderland. The city is built
around a castle on a huge rock, and all of the
old buildings are amazing to see.
I was staying with my cousin Hamish, and
for the first week I just hung out with him,
M----O-D
MAN
and he showed me Edinburgh. We rode hikes :
around, which for me was like coming out of
slow motion after limping around for three
weeks. We saw good art and music and he
ate Haggis and I ate chips.
Amplvox
One day we rode by a place called Bristo
Square and saw some people riding skate-
boards. We watched for a while, and then I
talked to one of the skaters and found out
we were at the main spot in Edinburgh. I
could see why. It was a nice, smooth area
with a variety of ledges and stairs.
The next day I went back to take some
photos and was given a present by one of
BBOWL
the local bums. It was an off white bead, and
I put it in my pack because gifts like that are
important to keep
For the rest of my time in Edinburgh I stayed
with a guy I had met six years earlier. Cubic and
his lovely girlfriend Shelley showed me how to
have fun in Scotland. We saw monuments, got
dizzy walking down a spiral staircase, barbe
cued on the beach, saw a fashion show, and
climbed a small mountain called Arthur's Seat
One day we took a trip to Glasgow to meet
up with some of the local skateboarders.
Glasgow has a bigger downtown area than
Edinburgh and offers more fun for the avid
streetskater. After visiting an amazing
place called the Bruddell Gallery
where there was way too much to see
In one day, we went to meet the
guys. There are some damn good-
skaters in Glasgow. As we trekked
around to the spots. I was impressed
by their style and individuality.
On the way back from Glasgow we
stopped by Cubic's parents' house for a
visit. One difference I noticed about
Scotland is that people seem generally
more hospitable and friendly. Cubic's
parents were super nice, and his dad
somehow found out that I enjoy a good
whiskey. Scottish whiskey is the best.
and he set me up with a few different
kinds of smooth liquid fire and sent me
on my way feeling much warmer.
On my last day in Scotland, Cubic
and I paid a visit to Livingston
Skatepark. Livingston is the only skatepark in
Scotland and is very good. Local legend David
Philip showed up on his way home to Ireland
and took a couple of rides on Cubic's board.
Good style. My ankle still wasn't working
very well, but I had fun carving
around and doing some grinds. It was
a good way to finish the trip
I panicked when I got on the train
back to London. because I realized
that my pass was expired. The fare
was eighty pounds, which is about a
hundred and fifty dollars, and I had
five left. I couldn't figure out a way
to dodge the ticket collectors who
would come through a few times dur-
ing the trip, so I just sat there stress-
ing about how I'd be thrown off at the
next stop and how I'd miss my plane
and die a horrible death in a yellow
field somewhere. When the man came
through I tried to show him my pass
quickly, and for a second it worked,
but then he turned around and asked
to see my pass again. Somehow this
extremely generous man let me go. It
took me a while to relax after that, but soon I
sat back to watch the scenery go by and real-
ized I was going home. "